Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Zanza]

Britain turned off its last coal powerplant. 

[Gups]

The past few years under the tories were what things look like when they're actually doing a good job of papering over the increasingly gaping chasms they inflicted?

They better keep investment in transport and other wealth creating infrastructure at least.

And what's going on with the promised planning reform. That costs "nothing" (yeah yeah lawyers)

I've read this three times and put it through Google translate but still can't make head nor tail of it.

[Josquius]

The past few years under the tories were what things look like when they're actually doing a good job of papering over the increasingly gaping chasms they inflicted?

They better keep investment in transport and other wealth creating infrastructure at least.

And what's going on with the promised planning reform. That costs "nothing" (yeah yeah lawyers)

I've read this three times and put it through Google translate but still can't make head nor tail of it.

What's not to get?
So the cluster fuck of the recent tories was them when they were successfully covering up their mess.
If nothing else we still need to invest in infrastructure.
Labour  promised planning reform. I hope it happens.

[Sheilbh]

Britain turned off its last coal powerplant. 

Yeah I posted about a couple of the milestones on this like the last delivery of coal in June/July. That energy transition way from coal has been incredibly quick - it was still the largest source of energy here until the late 90s. It's trending down (though a little less steeply) in the rest of Europe and North America.

Practically it's not significant but I think it is symbolically striking in the birthplace of a coal-based economy for us to now be post-coal.

[Sheilbh]

Weirdly on cemeteries, just saw a thread from a Green campaigner in Bristol opposing a plan to expand the local cemetery to some adjacent local farmland. Apparently councillors expect to profit from it personally and it's a disaster for biodiversity. Being shared by Baroness Jones of the Greens - so maybe it's becoming a thing?

(Can't help but think that, like sewers, railways and train stations, cemeteries were often established by Victorians who built ambitiously so had capacity for another 150 years - but now we're hitting the limits of that built legacy?)

[Tamas]

(Can't help but think that, like sewers, railways and train stations, cemeteries were often established by Victorians who built ambitiously so had capacity for another 150 years - but now we're hitting the limits of that built legacy?)

Sometimes I am thinking, maybe the Empire hasn't ended in terms of its after effects? Maybe the prosperity and wealth is still from the immense momentum gathered during the Empire's centuries and once that momentum is gone what we now know as the UK won't survive? I could be entirely wrong, really, just a thought experiment.

[Josquius]

(Can't help but think that, like sewers, railways and train stations, cemeteries were often established by Victorians who built ambitiously so had capacity for another 150 years - but now we're hitting the limits of that built legacy?)

Sometimes I am thinking, maybe the Empire hasn't ended in terms of its after effects? Maybe the prosperity and wealth is still from the immense momentum gathered during the Empire's centuries and once that momentum is gone what we now know as the UK won't survive? I could be entirely wrong, really, just a thought experiment.

Yes, ish, pretty accepted I think. Common complaint around slavery for instance, black folk are still suffering from the effects of generations of that shit even long after it ceased to be an issue (which right wingers just don't get).
Look to Rome and it was a good millenium or so that Europe spent living off its remains.

Its definitely a problem with the UK and has been since the empire was still around in the 50s that we have just coasted on what we already have rather than actually building for the future.

Though realistically even without the history of empire the UK has so many natural advantages it really should be in a much better state than it is.

[Admiral Yi]

Yes, ish, pretty accepted I think. Common complaint around slavery for instance, black folk are still suffering from the effects of generations of that shit even long after it ceased to be an issue (which right wingers just don't get).

I don't get it.  Please help me get it.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Of course declinism has been a feature of British discourse for around 150 years or so. Yet the sky never falls in.
The error, I think, is to assume that World Empire is the natural state of affairs and that we have somehow fallen from that high estate. In fact I believe we are returning to the long term norm. Britain is an important European country but is a little bit behind the most advanced parts of the continent. It really is about time we accepted that and enjoyed ourselves a bit more rather than fussing about worldbeating punching above our weight and the illusory special relationship.

[Josquius]

I don't get it.  Please help me get it.

Lots of stuff behind it. e.g.

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2019/03/08/the-curse-of-slavery-has-left-an-intergenerational-legacy-of-trauma-and-poor-health-for-african-americans/

Of course declinism has been a feature of British discourse for around 150 years or so. Yet the sky never falls in.
The error, I think, is to assume that World Empire is the natural state of affairs and that we have somehow fallen from that high estate. In fact I believe we are returning to the long term norm. Britain is an important European country but is a little bit behind the most advanced parts of the continent. It really is about time we accepted that and enjoyed ourselves a bit more rather than fussing about worldbeating punching above our weight and the illusory special relationship.

I would say we are more than a little bit behind the most advanced parts of the continent.
We are basically the Sunderland AFC (of a few years ago) of countries.

It's only due to being a large country and London being here that we still show up as pretty respectable on some numbers. Broadly however we are increasingly far more a peer of Poland et al than Northern Europe.

[Admiral Yi]

I don't get it.  Please help me get it.

Lots of stuff behind it. e.g.

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2019/03/08/the-curse-of-slavery-has-left-an-intergenerational-legacy-of-trauma-and-poor-health-for-african-americans/

Now that I've read your article, what do I need to do to demonstrate that I "get it?"  Show that I understand the point the author is making?  Agree that slavery, colonialism, and genocide (???) are the determinants of anxiety in descendents?  What do you mean when you say "get it?"

[Josquius]

I don't get it.  Please help me get it.

Lots of stuff behind it. e.g.

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2019/03/08/the-curse-of-slavery-has-left-an-intergenerational-legacy-of-trauma-and-poor-health-for-african-americans/

Now that I've read your article, what do I need to do to demonstrate that I "get it?"  Show that I understand the point the author is making?  Agree that slavery, colonialism, and genocide (???) are the determinants of anxiety in descendents?  What do you mean when you say "get it?"

I have no idea what you're trying to argue about here.
Just don't go off on random spiels ranting about how slavery was 150 years ago and black people have no excuses for being poor and all that sort of thing, and I'd imagine that would be fine.

[Admiral Yi]

I have no idea what you're trying to argue about here.
Just don't go off on random spiels ranting about how slavery was 150 years ago and black people have no excuses for being poor and all that sort of thing, and I'd imagine that would be fine.

I'm trying to understand what you mean by get it, so I can decide if I want to argue against it.  However your following sentence gives me enough sense of its meaning to decide I want to argue against it.

If my spiel is purposeful and non-random would that also be fine?

[Gups]

I don't get it.  Please help me get it.

Lots of stuff behind it. e.g.

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2019/03/08/the-curse-of-slavery-has-left-an-intergenerational-legacy-of-trauma-and-poor-health-for-african-americans/ 

This article is about African-Americans. What does it have to do with Britain's supposed relative decline?

[Josquius]

I don't get it.  Please help me get it.

Lots of stuff behind it. e.g.

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2019/03/08/the-curse-of-slavery-has-left-an-intergenerational-legacy-of-trauma-and-poor-health-for-african-americans/ 

This article is about African-Americans. What does it have to do with Britain's supposed relative decline?

Nothing. If you followed the thread that was a side mention of another example of the sort of effect you see in echos of empire impacting the country even today.

Another one that I've seen shared a bunch here is the Tsarist Russian border in modern Poland.